A SEMI-FINAL of an international football tournament in Italy ended in Tyneside tears.

But this time it wasn’t Gazza – and it wasn’t the World Cup.

This time it was blundering officials who robbed a junior football team of its chance of glory.

The Whitley Bay under-16s flew nearly 2,000 miles and paid more than £10,000 to show off their skills in the Pisa World Cup competition.

But because some of the players were months over the age threshold, the team was disqualified and sent packing back to Newcastle despite reaching the semi-finals.

Now the club are considering legal action in an effort to claw back some of the cash they lost on the trip.

They say they gave the organisers plenty of notification and that it was their decision which age group they played in.

Parents who travelled to Europe blasted the competition’s organisers and claimed their kids were left “gutted”.

Among those who paid out for the trip were Eamon Doyle, 46, a civil servant, and his wife Marie, 44, from Maple Avenue, Whitley Bay. Their son James, 16, was a member of the team.

Today Mr Doyle said: “I think there needs to be balance.

“It was an amazing experience and the place and people were fantastic.

“We got to visit the Riviera and both my sons James and Eamon got to play in the Pisa football stadium.

“But the team who complained and benefited from this decision were the most unsporting team in the competition.”

The team of 15 and 16-year-olds were put in the wrong age category despite sending organisers all the player details well in advance of the tournament.

But when a rival team complained, the Tynesiders were axed from the tournament.

Mr Doyle said: “Prior to any balls being kicked in the tournament, our coaches and manager had checked with the organisers and had told them we were happy to play in whatever age group they deemed appropriate – older or younger.”

When the Chronicle tried to contact the competition organisers there was no response.

But Malcolm Ward, of tour agency International Sport & Leisure, who organised the trip, say the club was offered the chance to play in a shield competition but turned down the gesture.

He said: “It was out of hands my because it was the competition organisers who made the mistake.

“We invited the team out there and put them up in a hotel for free.

“They refused to play in a shield game and also to attend the closing ceremony.